plus, dangerous ice storm. >> it's real slick roads. >> perhaps the worst in decades. flights canceled, thousands without power. >> this is the sixth time i've had to stop and get the ice off of there. >> but millions more in its path. we're live across the storm zone. this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> good morning. welcome to "new day," it is friday, december 6th, 6:00 in the east. we have two major stories this morning. the world mourning iconic leader and freedom fighter nelson mandela. >> here in the u.s. we're tracking a dangerous ice storm. forecasters saying it could be the worst ice storm ever for the region. people are waking up without power but millions could end up losing electricity for weeks, they fear, this as temperatures continue to plummet. >> we'll continue to what's going on but we want to react to the passing of nelson mandela. here's a live look at the crowds

that have been gathered outside the late south african leader's home. they're singing, their dancing, nations, of course, showing their respect. flags around the world at the white house we'll show you, see it, half-staff. this morning, honoring the anti-apartheid leader's life and legacy. we'll follow the developments from every corner of the world. let's bring with robyn curnow. she's in johannesburg. >> the news came just before midnight south african time that nelson mandela had gone. so many south africans woke up to this stark, gut wrenching head line. this says "hamba kahle madiba." >> it was an announcement heard around the world.

>> our beloved nelson mandela, the founding president of the nation has departed. >> after a long battle against a recurring lung infection and a leif time spent fighting for freedom and equality, nelson mandela died at 8:50 p.m. thursday night inside his johannesburg home. >> our nation has lost its greatest son. our people have lost a father. >> mandela's family stood by his side until the very end. >> love live nelson mandela! love live the spirit of south african people! >> reporter: his people, rushing to his old house, others flooding the streets outside his final resting place, some even in pajamas, celebrating his life, despite the announcement made just before midnight.

hundr hundreds singing his anti-apartheid rally cry ♪ nelson mandela nelson mandela ♪ >> reporter: nelson mandela, nelson mandela, there's no one like you. >> gave hope to the world. >> reporter: this morning, archbishop desmond tutu leading those around the world and in capetown in prayer for mandela. >> thank you for the gift of man de -- madiba. . >> reporter: today south africans paid tribute to father as they call him with makeshift memorials. december 5th now marks the day of south african's deepest sorrow.

but it's also a day that the country's president said should mark their greatest determination to continue nelson mandela's legacy. >> to live as madiba has lived, to strive as he has strived and to not rest until we have realized his vision of a truly united south africa. >> reporter: many south africans today, there's a bittersweet sense, they're relieved that he's not suffering but they're sad that this man who created this nation has gone. when i think of it, when i talk to people, the two phrases that keep on coming up, all they're saying, all people here are saying is thank you and good-bye. >> robyn, thanks so much with starting us off with our tribute to nelson mandela. nelson mandela changed the

world and now the world is honoring him. the african-american community here in new york among the millions paying tribute to him. don lemon is at the apollo theater, you were there through the night, don, hearing the reaction. >> absolutely, kate, good morning to you. that tribute is still up on the marquise here at the apollo theater. it says in memory of nelson mandela, from 1918 to 2013 he changed the world and he certainly did. he came to harlem back in 1909. it's fitting the people here in harlem were the first to pay tribute to him last night, the first south african black president. >> reporter: from the white house to buckingham palace, the entire world remembers a man who changed it forever. >> he taught us world peace.

he taught us how to love. >> i thought he was a great man because he kept his people from rising up after they gained their freedom. >> he has empowered each and every one of us. >> reporter: nelson mandela, a man who spent 27 years behind bars, now eulogized by presidents and monarchs. in washington, flags at the white house were lowered to half-staff. president obama spoke of the man who inspired him. >> we've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings any of us will share time with on this earth. he no longer belongs to us. he belongs to the ages. >> reporter: and former presidents clinton, bush and carter united to mourn the leader, in cities across the nation, people coming together to honor the man who has become a global symbol for justice and humanity, a touching tribute lights a marquee at the legendary apollo theater in harlem where nelson mandela visited to his first trip to the u.s. in 1990. >> he came to the state office

building, drew about 200,000 people out here that day. and those struggles that we have here in the united states, he was very familiar with and they were going through the same in south africa. >> reporter: news of his death traveled swiftly around the world. prince william and kate middleton heard the news while attending the premiere of the film "mandela: long walk to freedom." >> we are reminded how extraordinary nelson mandela was. >> reporter: at the united nations, silence. and the remembrance of his enormous impact. >> no one did more in our time to advance the values and aspirations of the united nations. nelson mandela showed what is possible for our world and within each one of us, if we believe. >> reporter: and so far, the only official tribute right now

is the one in lights behind me but i want to show you the marquee back in 1990 when nelson mandela visited here. it says, mr. and mrs. a&m, welcome home. we love you. we love you. we love you. over the course of that visit to new york city, 750 people throughout the city saw him and of course, chris, you might remember that. mario cuomo was the governor, dinkins was the mayor and nelson mandela made a big splash here and big impression on new york when he visited here. >> i remember many said they never met anyone like nelson mandela. we'll check back in with you later on. right now we get perspect e perspective, though, nelson mandela devoted himself to humanitarian work. sir richard branson worked with nelson mandela on many projects and helped him form a group called the elders. a very important part for nelson

mandela to what should be his legacy. sir richard branson joins us now. thanks for joining us. great to have you on the show. i want to say first, nelson mandela was a personal friend as well as a role model and i am sorry for your loss this morning. but thank you for joining us. >> thank you very much. i think everybody who knew him well is actually relieved for him and for his family, because he was having a very tough last two years. and now -- now he can rest in peace and we can move forward. >> and that's going to be the difficult part, right? obviously you want comfort at the end for somebody, for anybody but especially for him and to live 95 years after what he lived through is amazing. but now we have to deal with not having him in the world. let's start, please, with your understanding of the man. before we get to the meaning, what impressed you about him

personally? what might surprise us about him personally? >> as a man, he just had a wonderful sense of humor. he always had a naughty twinkle in his eye. he would laugh and dance with anybody and everybody around him. and he was an absolute delight to be with. then there was the other side, the side where, you know, he really wanted to make a difference in the world. he would get angry when other people weren't. even when he stepped down from being president, and he realized that the new government weren't addressing the problem of hiv and aids properly, he decided to speak out. i remember a wonderful concept, 4666 where he got up on stage and told people in africa, look,

you've got to protect yourself. you've got to look after yourself. and he told governments, you know, you've got to help get antiviral drugs, you have to save millions of people instead of letting millions of people die. almost everything he touched he made the right decisions and as far as his legacy is concerned, he did set up the elders. he wanted -- he didn't want his life to be wasted. he chose the 12 men and women that he felt had the greatest moral authority in the world, who could carry on his good works for many, many years to come. and could also go in and try to address conflicts in the world. and so people like archbishop tutu, kofi annan, mary robertson, president carter from

america. an extraordinary group of people. >> let me ask you, you know, we were showing people his first trip to the united states in 1990. i remember the chance of power to the people, and what nelson mandela came to mean to people here and all around the world. when you think about what nelson mandela would want his legacy to be going forward with what the world faces today, what do you think that would be? what do you think his wish would be for what leaders do going forward, the elders and others. >> the one word i think most sums him up the most is forgiveness. i think that he would want all of us individually in our own lives to pick up the phone today. talk to somebody that you've fallen out with, invite them to lunch, embrace them. life is too short to have any enemies. and then, you know, on a

bigger -- on a bigger picture, you know, he would have welcomed the talks with iran. so much better to try to become friends again with countries you've fallen out with than drop bombs on each other. he was incredibly angry about the invasion of iraq. i mean, i spoke with him before the invasion of iraq and actually sent a plane to take him to iraq to see saddam hussein to try to persuade saddam hussein to step down. and he and kofi annan were going on a secret mission. the day that plane was due to leave south africa, sadly, the bombing started and they never had the chance to try to get saddam hussein to step down in the interest of his country and

the people. he was trying all the time to try to resolve conflicts rather than encourage the starting of conflicts through his province. >> nelson mandela was a flight away from trying to stop the iraq war before it happened. i hadn't heard that before. >> no. and you know, he said he'll be willing to go as long as we could get kofi annan to go with him. and kofi annan agreed to go with him. it was a great pity that it never happened. history might have been changed if it had happened. but it just showed the lengths he would go, even as a very old man, to try to avoid the misery of conflict. >> sir richard branson, thank you very much. it's important, i heard you use the word he did get angry. people need to know that. it wasn't that he didn't feel

anger, but it's what you do with it. very sorry for your loss. >> thank you very much. as a leader, nelson mandela was inspiring but also quite a sense of humor as you heard sir richard say. you'll hear from him in his own words. we'll also hear from those who knew him well and interviewed him often. kate? turning back here to home right now, let's bring you up to date on that large and severe storm that is bearing down on much of the country. winter advisories are under way from texas to the ohio valley as sleet and freezing rain are creating dangerous ice conditions. several states are declaring states of emergency and airlines have canceled hundreds of flights, many schools also closed for the day. we have team coverage of what could be the biggest winter storm in recent memory, beginning for us indra petersons live in memphis, tennessee this morning. good morning, indra.

>> reporter: a potentially catastrophic ice storm blanketed the nation's midsection overnight. >> this is the sixth time i've had to stop and get the ice off thereof. >> reporter: treacherous roadways forced arkansas, oklahoma and tennessee officials to declare a state of emergency. northeast arkansas frozen by up to an inch of ice, leaving many without power. temperatures are expected to stay below freezing for many days. this icy mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain caused multiple rollovers in arkansas, including this seven-car pileup in washington county and in oklahoma, the driver of this truck lost control on an icy bridge and plummeted into a lake. >> it's real slick. he tried to get up the hill and couldn't get up the hill. the best thing to did is stay home today. >> reporter: in illinois, vehicles slide right off the

highways as accumulations of sleet and ice reach up to a quarter inch in southern counties. in the skies, hundreds of flights canceled thursday and more expected for friday as the warnings spread from texas to eastern ohio. it could be the worst ice storm to hit the region since 1994 which caused over $3 billion in damage. it's not just the ice. the national weather service says this massive arctic air mass is dropping temps 20 to 30 degrees below normal, leaving millions to battle a dangerously bitter cold into the weekend. well, here in memphis, tennessee right now, we're seeing temperatures just above the freezing mark and the line storms is pushing its way slowly into the area. you can see that on the satellite picture. the concern? we are talking about an experimental index. it's an ice impact index by the national weather service that says this could be a category 3 ice storm here in memphis ice storm. we're talking about half an inch of isolation. just the north of us in arkansas

they have a threat for a category 5 ice storm, which means that is catastrophic. the power is on behind me. although that could all change as the storm moves into memphis here over the next few hours. >> you've been telling us how quickly the power lines can get loaded up with ice. then they fall and you lose power. we're watching that. we also know many many states accidents are piling up. the ice storm is expected to cripple much of north texas as a result. in dallas, district schools are closed, weekend events canceled. from wednesday's high of 80, a low of 20 forecast for later tonight. cnn's alina machado is in dallas. >> reporter: good morning, chris. we are seeing some light sleet coming down right now here in downtown dallas. the danger is not gone. take a look at these bushes. you get a sense of just how much ice we're talking about here. these bushes are frozen. you can see that clearly here.

the roads here by the way are also a slippery, slushy mess. heightened alert in north texas as it sits in the path of what could be one of the worst ice storms to hit the u.s. in years. sleet, started falling in denton county late thursday. slushy surfaces slowing traffic. reports of up to a half inch of sleet and ice, accumulating on bridges and overpasses. making them more treacherous. denton police responding to more than 50 vehicle wrecks and calls for assistance in an eight-hour span. >> in dallas, dozens of salt trucks an employees are on standby, ready to treat dangerous road conditions. >> we stand ready as the city of dallas to address the ice and hazards that might come. >> reporter: the threat serious enough to cause the cancellation of saturday's holiday parade for the first time in its 26-year history.

classes at the dallas independent school district, one of the largest in the state, are also canceled friday and on thursday, flight cancellations started popping up on departure boards inside dallas-ft. worth international airport, the hub for american airlines. american alone nixed nearly 500 flights ahead of the storm. >> you took an earlier flight. >> out of las vegas, yes. >> because of the weather? >> because of the weather. >> they're comparing it to what happened to us about three years ago. >> reporter: that's what happened during super bowl week back in 2011 after a winter storm slammed the area and brought the city to a standstill. residents now are bracing for what could be yet another wintry mess. >> probably pack it in for the worst and hopefully try to keep safe. >> reporter: you are looking at a live look at the roads here. it will be a very slow and treacherous commute this morning. by the way, more than 100,000 people are waking up today in

north central texas without power and that number could rise if this continues. michaela? >> we'll be watching that with you. stay warm. we are going to return to our coverage of the storm and, of course, nelson mandela's passing. first, let's bring you up to date on your other headlines. president obama spoke out in defense of healthcare.gov in a wide-ranging interview with msnbc. the president says the website is now working and there's no reason for people to go without insurance. he defended his management of the rollout saying he is holding every cabinet member accountable. no claim of responsibility yet in the shooting death of an american teacher in libya. ronald thomas smith was killed in a drive-by shooting in benghazi on thursday. his death comes days after al qaeda called for libyans to attack u.s. interests as revenge for october's capture of a suspect off the streets of tripoli. american officials are pushing authorities in libya for a vigorous investigation. secretary of state john kerry meeting with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu

before returning to the united states. he was pledged to support the jewish state security throughout separate negotiations with iran and the palestinians. kerry's comments served as a peace offering to netanyahu called the deal between iran and world pou pers and his torque mistake. the engineer behind the controls of the commuter train that derailed in the bronx is now suspended without pay and the ntsb says drug and alcohol testing for william rockefeller have all come back negative. his attorney and union representative said he was in a days when the train took a sharp turn at 82 miles an hour four people died when the train jumped the tracks sunday. fast food workers across the country went on strike sunday, demanding $15 an hour. organizers say they there were rallies in 100 cities. workers are seeking the right to unionize as well. the growing movement began about a year ago and is being bank rolled by the service employees international union.

those are our headlines at this hour, guy. >> thanks, michaela. coming up next on "new day," we continue our breaking coverage of nelson mandela's death overnight. that as south africans gathered at his home, singing, dancing, celebrating the man they called father. we'll return live to south africa.

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welcome back to a special edition of "new day." we start again, of course, with the passing of nelson mandela. you're looking at live pictures down in south africa. the news is sad to be sure but it is also definitely reason for celebration, because of the life and legacy of nelson mandela. people have been gathering outside his house. you will hear now singing, chanting, because remember, the greatest example of nelson mandela was the epitome of learning how to have joy in your heart even through the greatest of adversity. that's what we're seeing in south africa being echoed around the world and continuing to grow as word spreads of the passing of this great leader. we have arwa damon there outside the celebration. what's the latest from there, arwa? >> reporter: it's quite incredible to be out here looking at how this nation is

dealing with such a devastating, massive loss. you can see from the crowds behind me, although it is a nation in mourning, it is a country that is choosing to celebrate what this man has meant for them. so many of the people here that we've been talking to are not really able to verbalize exactly what they're feeling, what nelson mandela men the to them. that is how profound the impact has been. a lot of the singing, chanting, has to do with fighting the battle they had to fight during apartheid. the other thing, too, that is represented here, that is one of the corner stones of which nelson mandela stood for, you have the unity of this community, all ages, all backgrounds, all ethnicities coming to pay their respects to a man who has been called a legend, hero, an inspiration. a man which so many people here share a personal connection with. we met a young 23-year-old black

university student who talked about how had it not been for nelson mandela, he would not be able to get an education. he would probably not even be able to approach a white individual. >> arwa, beautiful to hear that celebration going on behind you. the tributes will continue obviously for days to come. thanks, arwa, we'll be back with you. among the leaders paying tribute to nelson mandela is president obama. saying we're not likely to see someone like nelson mandela again. brianna keilar is joining us from the north lawn as always. last night when the president came out to make that statement following the announcement of nelson mandela's death, it seemed a very personal one for him. >>et that -- that's right. there's a real personal connection here, president obama was only 19 when he got involved with the anti-apartheid movement. the first time he ever gave a political address was about this issue. it was 1981. he was a sophomore at occidental college in california.

for president obama, nelson mandela was a personal hero and a political idol whose legendary struggle fueled his earliest ambiti ambitions. >> i am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from nelson mandela's life. my very first political action, the first thing i ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics was a protest against apartheid. >> reporter: they met in person only briefly in 2005 before obama became president. the two leaders, each standing in history as the first black president of his nation spoke occasionally by phone. president obama penned the forward for mandela's 2010 memoir, "conversations with myself." he wrote his example helped awaken me to the wider world and the obligation we all have to stand up for what it is right. through his choices, mandela made it clear we did not have to accept the world as it is, that

we could do our part to seek the world as it should be. when president obama visited south africa this summer, mandela was so ill, the two were unable to meet. still mandela's inspiration played large during the president's trip. president obama returned to robbin island, but this time he brought his entire family. >> there was something different about bringing my children. and malia is now 15. sasha is 12, and seeing them stand within the walls that once surrounded nelson mandela, i knew this was an experience that they would never forget. i knew that they now appreciated a little bit more the sacrifices that madiba and others had made for freedom. >> reporter: soon off the leader's death was announced, obama said he could not imagine

his life without mandela's example. >> we've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth. he no longer belongs to us. he belongs to the ages. >> reporter: president obama repeating the words there that were said of abraham lincoln after he passed away. and chris and kate, we do know that president obama will be heading to south africa to pay tribute to nelson mandela. we would expect as well that other former presidents would do the same thing, just because of the iconic nature of this moment. we don't know the details of that. we're standing by to figure out exactly when the president will be heading to africa. >> brianna, thank you so much for that from the north lawn this morning. >> just to be honest, there are very few who stand as alone as leaders as nelson mandela does. it makes perfect sense that that's being reflected by the honor being paid to him. >> you see that in the reactions that have poured in from across the world. >> we'll be following this

throughout. as word spreads of his passing there will be more celebration, more reaction. we'll bring it to you. we are also tracking the dangerous ice storm that's hittihi hitting much of this country. we're live in the storm zone with what you need to know. >> and it is friday, which means the jobs report is coming out this morning. early predictions are looking good. why is that still making some investors nervous? christine romans is here. we'll fill you in. mine was earned orbiting the moon in 1971.

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all right. that says is right there. we're tracking the storm across the country. it was snow, now ice. very dangerous, very tough on power lines. tough on roads. we're covering it as it moves across the country. want to let you know where it's going and what it might be like this weekend. so indra petersons is in memphis, tennessee. that's a hard impact area right now as the storm continues to move. she's tracking it from there. indra, what do you see? >> it looks like it will be a tough weekend as two systems move through the same region, impacting them with catastrophic ice storms. memphis, temperatures above freezing. the line of storms has not moved in the area just yet. take a look at the radar. that's not been the case overnight as this ice storm started to make its way across the country. we've seen reports of ice from indiana stretching back even in through texas.

farther to north around indiana and southern illinois they've seen about a quarter inch of ice. it's just around arkansas and tennessee where we're seeing some of the bigger impacts, seeing over an inch of ice already reported. so let's talk about this. there is an ice index, the national weather service, this is the first year they're doing it. right here in memphis, they are talking about this being a category 3. that means we could see power potentially out for about a week with these impacts, half an inch to three-quarter inch of ice. around jonesboro, arkansas, they're calling this catastrophic, level 5. they're seeing the freezing rain moving into this region and this is what i want to point out to you. there is actually a marathon, a st. jude's marathon in memphis tomorrow morning. it has not been canceled at this point in tile. there's 20,000 people expected to move in and out of this city. just imagine the danger of these people commuting in and out with the dangerous ice storm under way. kate? >> all right, indra, thank you so much.

we'll be back with you throughout the show. let's talk about the jobs report. it's scheduled to be released this morning. and economists are optimistic on what we'll be seeing. but that's really only part of the story. christine romans is here with more on that. >> hi there, kate. let's talk about the jobs report in a moment. your economy is three things, jobs, investments and housing. we think of it as the three corners of the triangle. you need all of those for your personal finances and to grow your wealth. small businesses, they seem to be hiring more than the big businesses are by the way. auto sales have been up. you have the signals that are showing the economy doing a little bit better. >> when you're talking about the economy doing better, let's talk about housing. you say there's good news there. >> that's one very important part of your finance triangle. 3% home growth is what zillow was forecasting. mortgage rates moving up, 4.46%. that's not necessarily bad. why? it says the banks might start

writing more loans next year. >> historically they're still very low. >> very low, absolutely. anything under 5% is still very low. >> good news. why is the stock market still stalling? >> that's interesting. five down days for stocks over the past week. your 401(k) is up double digits this year, no question. you've seen really good -- really good stock market gains this year. but as the economy starts to improve, the fed could start to pull back on that stimulus and that's one reason you're seeing the stock market start to question whether it can keep going. >> you've got good news all around, the jobs report coming out. they're optimistic it could be -- >> 183,000, probably. >> you're not sold on that. >> i'm not sold on that. you have low-wage jobs a big part of the comeback and the recovery. over the past three years, 95% of household income gains have

gone to the top 1%. so the average joe isn't feeling the recovery just yet, kate. >> something we've been talking quite a lot about and will continue to be. the jobs report coming out in about two hours from now. we'll be back to talk about that. let's take a break right now. when we come back, an american, a teacher, gunned down in benghazi. was his murder a message? as a business owner, i'm constantly putting out fires. so i deserve a small business credit card with amazing rewards. with the spark cash card from capital one,

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welcome back to "new day." the u.s. government and one man's family want answers. after an american teacher was killed on the streets of benghazi.

ronald thomas smith was in libya teaching chemistry. he was killed in a drive-by shooting while out jogging. there are indications it could be a revenge attack from al qaeda. cnn's nic robertson has the story for you. >> reporter: ronnie smith, a chemistry teacher at an international school in benghazi, gunned down while exercising in the volatile libyan city. smith's killing, not far from the former american consulate where u.s. ambassador chris stevens was killed almost 15 months ago. >> at this point we don't have very much information to share about who is responsible for how it happened or why. but we certainly do expect the libyans to investigate. >> reporter: smith may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, a victim of random violence that took three other lives in benghazi thursday, as the country is caught up in rising militia violence. and although no claim of

responsibility yet, less than a week before the shooting, al qaeda's american spokesman told libyans to attack american interests. in the 17-minute audio message in arabic, adam gudan said rise up and have vengeance against america for arresting al libi. he was arrested in the capital tripoli two months ago. he was wanted in connection of the 1998 bombing of the u.s. embassies in kenya and tanzania. impossible to know why smith was killed, but a look at his twitter account shows the world has lost not just a dedicated american teacher but a keen whit, too. this from his account wednesday. people always hate the cool kids, for clarification, we're the cool kids.

much loved and already missed by his students and friends alike. smith leaves behind a wife and a young son. nic robertson, cnn, new york. >> nic, thank you so much for that. coming up next on "new day," we'll continue to talk more on the passing of nelson mandela. the life and the legacy of the man that the world will remember today. and we'll talk to the former u.s. ambassador to south africa who knew mandela well. he'll join us with his personal reflections on legacy of a leader, he says, changed the world. (announcer) scottrade knows our clients trade and invest their own way. with scottrade's smart text, i can quickly understand my charts, and spend more time trading. their quick trade bar lets my account follow me online so i can react in real-time. plus, my local scottrade office is there to help. because they know i don't trade like everybody. i trade like me.

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♪ so i sing a song for madiba mandela ♪ >> welcome back to "new day," nelson mandela was an international icon, a larger than life leader who went from a south african prison cell to the presidency. he was known as a hands-on politician who many remember as thoughtful and kind. let's get perspective. joining us now is delano lewis, the former ambassador to south africa. thank you for joining us, ambassador. >> thank you. good to be here. >> let's start with the personal. you're going to meet with nelson mandela. you're in a rush. you leave your family in the car, go inside to take care of business first. you realize your family is in the car and he tells you -- >> well, he says, how is the family? i said, the family is fine. as a matter of fact, my wife and

sister-in-law and two grandsons are in the car. he said in the car? he said bring them in. so he came, asked for them to come in and we were in the foyer of his office in his home and he met my grandsons, my sister-in-law and my spouse. it was a wonderful, wonderful time. >> i this i a beautiful corollary on that story that gives a sense of how nelson mandela knew who he was, knew what he represented. is it true he said to you, bring your family in, let them know that nelson mandela thinks that you are an important man? >> yes. he was very, very gracious. he looked at mayan grad sons, one 11, one 13, first time they visited south africa. he said do you know your grandfather is a very important man? and i just couldn't handle it. i said, nelson mandela is saying i'm an important man? he says, yes, he's the united states ambassador to south africa. >> of course when it came from him, not only did it mean a lot but it was also about what it was motivated by.

it wasn't being pompous, of course, it was his sense of purpose. that's what i want to ask for you, perspective on, we hear about his gentility, his amazing ability to forgive. talk about the fire within this man, the forcefulness, the passion, the fierceness that he brought to what he thought was right. >> it's a miracle that nelson mandela was the one who led us out of apartheid in south africa, because he was the one who said i'm not going to treat the whites as they treated us. he says we're all one, south africa. we're all south africans. and that was the greatest miracle that ever happened. his commitment was strong. if you looked and talked to him, he always talked about others in the movement. he never accepted the credit. every time i was in his presence and i would say to him how much i admired him and all the great things that he did and accomplished, he says, no, it was not me. i was not alone. there were many, many others. but the other important principle was that he believed

in inclusion. when i was there he was working on the crisis in burundi. there were 16 political parties involved. he said we must bring them all to the table. that's what he lived, his politics, his life was one of inclusion. >> it's interesting. he had said one man could not unite a country, one man did not unite a country, obviously speaking to what you say was his recognizing the strength of the collective. as we remember him, tell me what you think about this, theyed that it's not that he didn't feel anger, that he didn't feel bitterness, it's what he decided to do with those things. did you appreciate the distinction there when you were around him? >> yes. he just believed in south africa and he believed in racial equality. and he believed that all people in south africa should unite and be as one. so the commitment was there. he was a very strong and fierce fighter as we all knew. he spent his life fighting that

system, which was denigrating to people of color in south africa. his commitment was one of one south africa. that was just the miracle. >> as so many look at him now as larger than life, how special for you and your family to know that nelson mandela told them and told you that he recognized your worth and your value as a leader as well? that's a beautiful memory for you to have as well as having worked with this person. >> absolutely. it's a strong memory. i was honored to be the united states ambassador to south africa. but obviously at the time of nelson mandela it was absolutely an unbelievable time for us. and i must say that when i paid my farewell visit to president mandela, i asked his assist and the if i could bring several books, i have four sons and their families, could i bring those books and ask him to sign an autograph those books for my family? he did each one of them. not only did he sign it, he wanted to know about the family. he loved family and he loved south africa. >> thank you so much for sharing with us this morning, mr. ambassador. we appreciate it.

>> my pleasure. thank you for having me. >> kate? all right, chris, coming up next on "new day," millions are bracing for an ice storm that is likely to bring one of america's biggest cities, dallas, to a standstill. the dangerous weather making a mess there. what you need to know at the top of the hour. and of course we will also be talking much more about nelson mandela this morning. we'll talk with the former british prime minister, tony blair who says the iconic leader brought out the best in people. nelson mandela really taught us all, it's much more powerful and useful to forgive. and the importance of teaching others about the goodness of humanity. before using her new bank of america credit card, which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance. before receiving $25 toward her balance each quarter for making more than her minimum payment

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this morning, a celebration of a true hero. >> long live nelson mandela. >> the world reacts to the death of nelson mandela. >> nelson mandela was not just a hero of our time but a hero of all time. >> an amazing outpouring of love and respect. we are live in south africa and beyond, talking to those who knew the man well. plus, a monster ice storm hitting millions at this hour. >> real slick roads. >> it may be the worst in decades, thousands already without power, millions more could be without for weeks. >> this is the sixth time i've had to stop and get the ice off of there. >> the accidents are piling up and it's just getting started.

we're live across the storm zone. this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. it's friday, december 6th, 7:00 in the east. two major stories for you this morning. we'll get to the major winter storm brewing in the south. it's cancelling flights and making a mess of roads. >> first of course the world is mourning the loss of nelson mandela, passing away last night at the age of 95. if the reaction following his death proves anything, his life was long but his legacy will last forever. >> and what that legacy is is also, we're starting to see through the celebration of it. of course there is sorrow at this sad news but the man who liberated, who birthed a free country, there is singing and dancing for the spirit of that memory. it's been going on outside his home throughout the night as they learn of the loss of the man they knew as madiba. we'll cover mandela's death all around the world this morning.

let's bring in johannesburg with robyn curnow. robyn? >> reporter: everybody in the country is paying their respects, saying good bye in their own, very personal way. there's another great south african, archbishop desmond tutu who is at this moment on television giving an anguished, it sounds like a lament, employing, asking south africans what is beginning to happen to us now that our father has died? he's urging south africans to make sure mandela's dream is not betrayed. he says south africans of all races owe it to him. it was an announcement heart around the world. >> fellow south africans, our beloved nelson mandela, the founding president of our democratic nation has departed. >> reporter: after a long battle against a recurring lung

infection and a lifetime spent fighting for freedom and equality, nelson mandela died at 8:50 p.m. thursday night. inside his johannesburg home. >> our nation has lost its greatest son. our people have lost a father. >> reporter: mandela's family stood by his side until the very end. >> love live nelson mandela! love live the spirit of south african people! long live! >> long live! >> reporter: his people, rushing to his old house, others flooding the streets outside his final resting place, some even in pajamas, celebrating his life, despite the announcement made just before midnight. ♪ hundreds singing his anti-apartheid rallying cry. ♪ nelson mandela nelson

mandela ♪ >> reporter: nelson mandela, nelson mandela, there's no one like you. >> gave hope to the world. >> reporter: this morning, archbishop desmond tutu leading his church in capetown and those around the world in prayer for mandela. >> thank you for the gift of madiba. thank you for watch iing him. >> reporter: today south africans paid tribute to father as they call him with makeshift memorials. december 5th now marks the day of south africa's deepest sorrow, but it's also a day that the country's president said should mark their greatest determination to continue nelson mandela's legacy.

>> to live as madiba has lived, to strive as he has strived and to not rest until we have realized his vision of a truly united south africa. >> reporter: outside mandela's house, the place where he passed away late thursday night, we've already heard from an ordinary south african who went there and his words, just as powerful as archbishop desmond tutu, he said i'm humbled by this man who united us. i feel as if i've lost a part of my body but my tears are of joy because he's resting in peace. >> honoring his legacy in south africa today. that will continue. robyn, thank you for that. the reaction to mnelson mandela death is coming in from all over the globe.

we go to don lemon in harlem. he has much more. >> reporter: there's a tribute in lights on the marquee of the world famous apollo theater. nelson mandela felt a kinship to new york city but especially to harlem. this is where many people if they live africa they come here to live. there's a place not far from where i am that's called little africa. many south africans came here, called this home, escaping apartheid. it was one of the first places he came to visit after he left prison in 1990. this is one of the first places to pay tribute to him. from the white house to buckingham palace, the entire world remembers a man who changed it forever. >> he taught us world peace. he taught us how to love. >> i thought he was a great man because he kept his people from rising up after they gained their freedom. >> he has empowered each and every one of us. >> reporter: nelson mandela, a man who spent 27 years behind bars, now eulogized by presidents and monarchs. in washington, flags at the white house were lowered to half-staff. president obama spoke of the man who inspired him.

>> we've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings any of us will share time with on this earth. >> reporter: president clinton, i will never forget my friend, madiba. president bush, he was a man of tremendous moral courage who changed the course of history in this country. president carter, his passion for freedom and justice created new hope for generations of oppressed people worldwide. in cities across the nation, people coming together to honor the man who has become a global symbol for justice and humanity. a trusting tribute lights the marquee in harlem at the apollo theater where mandela visited in 1990. he came to the state office building, drew about 200,000 people out here that day. and those struggles that we have here in the united states, he was very familiar with and they were going through the same in

south africa. >> reporter: news of his death traveled swiftly around the world. prince william and kate middleton heard the news while attending the premiere of the film "mandela: long walk to freedom." >> tragic news. we are reminded how extraordinary nelson mandela was. >> reporter: at the united nations, silence. and the remembrance of his enormous impact. >> no one did more in our time to advance the values and aspirations of the united nations. nelson mandela showed what is possible for our world and within each one of us, if we believe. >> reporter: the marquee says in memory of nelson mandela. he changed our world. i want to show you the marquee when he visited here back in 1990. it was him and his wife, winnie mandela. it says mr. and mrs. mandela,

welcome home. we love you. we love you. we love you. it says welcome home again. many south africans find a home here in harlem and today a tribute to the newspapers here -- by the newspapers here in new york city. this is "the daily news." it says farewell, dear friend, the world mourns the death of south africa's giant. kate, chris? >> beautiful headlines on many newspapers this morning. >> remember how he changed this country when he came in 1990. the t-shirts, power to the people. he was an extraordinary man. as a result he'll have an extraordinary farewell. the first public event will happen on monday when mandela will receive a memorial service in johannesburg's soccer stadium. some heads of state are likely to attend, including president obama. starting tuesday, there will be three days of lying in state in pretoria.

on day ten there will be a funeral and, of course, we will be buried. he had quite a sense of humor as well. you'll hear from him in his own words and we'll hear from those who knew him well and interviewed him often. another major story as well this morning. a massive ice storm barreling down on millions right now. it's shaping up to be the worst ice storm in years. already, thousands are in the dark, trees are down, wrecks are piling up on dangerous ice slicked roads. the problem is, it's just the beginning. we'll be live along the path of the storm for you this morning. let's get to meteorologist indra petersons who finds the storm in memphis. indra, what's beginning on there? >> reporter: right now in memphis we're just ahead of this system, still talking about what it looks like, about half an edge of ice that is expected to be moving into this region. a category 3 ice storm could be making its way here. we're talking about anywhere from indiana, southern illinois

all the way back through texas. they've seen rain, sleet, ice and dangerous snow. a potentially catastrophic ice storm blanketed the nation's midsection overnight. >> this is the sixth time i've had to stop and get the ice off of there. >> reporter: treacherous roadways and large-scale power outages forced oklahoma, arkansas and tennessee officials to declare a state of emergency. northeast arkansas now frozen by up to an inch of ice and wet snow, leaving many without power. an outage, officials say, that could last for up to a week. temperatures are expected to stay below freezing for many days. this icy mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain caused multiple rollovers in arkansas, including this seven-car pileup in washington county. in oklahoma, the driver of this truck lost control on an icy bridge and plummeted into a lake. >> it's real slick. the roads are -- you go to stop, you slide. i tried to get up the hill and couldn't make it up the hill.

best thing to do is stay home today. >> reporter: in illinois, vehicles slide right off the highways as accumulation of sleet and ice reached as high as a quarter inch in southern counties. in the sky, hundreds of flights canceled thursday and more expected for friday as the winter storm warning span from texas to eastern ohio. it could be the worst ice storm to hit the region since 1994. which caused over $3 billion in damage. and it's not just the ice, the national weather service says this massive arctic air mass is dropping temps 10 to 30 degrees below normal. leaving millions of people to battle a dangerously bitter cold into the weekend. well, this storm is definitely approaching. we just in the last few minutes here started to feel the rain coming down. that line in the system approaching very quickly in the next few hours. we're supposed to switch over from rain to freezing rain. we're talking about the potential of a category 3 ice storm here into memphis, just north of us, catastrophic ice

storm, a category 5, the highest level possible in jonesboro, arkansas. this is the concern. we have 20,000 people coming into memphis tonight for the marathon, the st. jude's marathon tomorrow morning. the ice warning means they do not want you on the roads. it looks like a lot of people will be commuting in and out of the city and that is just a dangerous thought. >> sure seems like these storms are coming in at the worst times this winter. the ice pellets are falling hard in dallas this morning, paralyzing the city and much of north texas, actually. schools are closed, businesses are shuttered, the roads a dangerous mess. temperatures plummeted to below freezing this morning from 80 on wednesday. alien kn leelie leelie leelien dallas. >> reporter: take a look at this chair. it is chosen, covered in ice.

and the roads, those are slushy and slippery and that's expected to be quite a mess this morning. >> reporter: heightened alert in north texas as it sits in the path of what could be one of the worst ice storms to hit the u.s. in years. sleet started falling in denton county late thursday. slushy surfaces slowing traffic. reports of up to a half inch of sleet and ice, accumulating on bridges and overpasses. making them more treacherous. denton police responding to more than 50 vehicle wrecks and calls for assistance in an eight-hour span. in dallas, dozens of salt trucks an employees are on standby, ready to treat dangerous road conditions. >> we stand ready as the city of dallas to address the ice and hazards that might come. >> reporter: the threat serious enough to cause the cancellation of saturday's holiday parade for the first time in its 26-year history.

classes at the dallas independent school district, one of the largest in the state, are also canceled friday and on thursday, flight cancellations started popping up on departure boards inside dallas-ft. worth international airport, the hub for american airlines. american alone nixed nearly 500 flights ahead of the storm. >> you took an earlier flight. >> out of las vegas, yes. >> because of the weather? >> because of the weather. >> they're comparing it to what happened to us about three years ago. >> reporter: that's what happened during super bowl week back in 2011 after a winter storm slammed the area and brought the city to a standstill. residents now are bracing for what could be yet another wintry mess. >> probably pack it in for the worst and hopefully try to keep safe. >> reporter: this is a live look at the road conditions here. you can see traffic is moving slowly this morning. it is expected to continue this way throughout the day.

and power outages here continue to rise, the number of power outages more than 100,000 people are waking up today, michaela, without any power. prepare for the worst and hope for the best. alena ma ch leen na ma cholena . the president called for new measures to give americans more confidence in the organization. the nsa has been rocked by multiple leaks, revealing many surveillance programs. the president did not specify what those reforms could be. a drive-by shooting has killed an american teacher in benghazi. ronald thomas smith was in libya teaching chemistry. his shooting cams days after al qaeda called for libyans to attack u.s. interests. as revenge for october's capture for a terror suspect in tripoli. american authorities are pushing

for a vigorous investigation. they are trying to beat a december 13th deadline to hammer out a spending plan and head off yet another government shutdown. congressman paul ryan and senator patty murray are putting together a trillion dollar package for next year and are said to be only a few billion dollars away in savings. a cracked windshield forced a new orleans bound flight to return to orlando. a local tv station says southwest pilots noticed the crack on the outer part of the windshield thursday and turned back. the plane landed safely. the passengers were placed on another airplane. in just about an hour, the government will release it's november jobs report. economists expect 185,000 workers were added to the payrolls. the october report registered 204,000 hires. this uptick in hiring may not necessarily be a good thing for investors. trying to figure out if the fed will end its stimulus measures. we'll bring you those numbers live at 8:30 eastern this

morning. those are your headlines at this hour, guys. >> thank you. coming up next on "new day," we have much more on the weather making its way east. we'll tell you which states will get the hardest hit and how you may have to adjust travel plans unfortunately this weekend. of course we continue to look back at the life of nelson mandela. new york congressman charles wrangle helped welcome mandela to harlem in 1990. he'll join us next. he has great stories. we are happy with the heroes among our own people. this is a determined struggle to bring an end to the crime against humanity. waffle bars... fancy robes... seems every hotel has something to love... so join the loyalty program that lets you earn free nights in any of them. plus, for a limited time, members can win a free night every day.

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jim changed his routine. no known dietary restrictions. for more information and savings options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. ♪ welcome back to "new day." we are celebrating the extraordinary life and legacy of nelson mandela this morning. a man whose work to end apartheid in south africa inspired his nation and inspired the world. joining us now, representative charlie wrangle, the democrat from new york and from washington, cnn political commentator and democratic strategist donna brazile. also with us, cnn chief national correspondent john king. he was in the room 20 years ago when mandela was inaugurated as

president of south africa. we thank you all for joining us to share your recks and time with mandela. we start with you, congressman. i'm curious, as a man, as a politician, tell me about the impact he had on you after meeting him. >> wow, no one has presented the question as you have. as a kid, i'm embarrassed to admit i knew very little about africa. if you wanted to insult a black kid, a colored kid, you killed him african because the world, including the united states, had allowed us to believe that africa was so underdeveloped, that the world had an attitude that they were inferior people as opposed to the europeans. when nelson mandela became a world leader and was on

television and people of african descent, not only in the united states but throughout the world could not possibly identify with a country. mr. cuomo identifies, kennedy. our history has been torn apart and substituted with this inferiority. but when nelson mandela spoke, even in the british tilt that we would learn to respect and he spoke to the world in terms of peace, even though he had the power and so many little black kids would say, mommy, he looks like me, doesn't he? i don't know how god could have blessed us in trying to instantly take away any ideas of inferiority in bringing a saint with all of the qualities that we expected in all of our leaders, including the pope, and to share him with all of us. so it was a real personal thing,

of course, in meeting him. my wife would say, she doesn't ever remember me being speechless. >> that was the moment. >> i was so awed i couldn't believe it. god spent a lot of time on nelson mandela. >> what a beautiful sentiment. donna, i want to bring you into this as well. we know you also had the opportunity to meet the great south africa leader. i'd love your insight, having spent time with him. give us insight that maybe we might not know about the man. >> well, i was very, very young, as congressman wrangle knows. i was just fortunate as a young activist to be a part of so much history, working with civil rights leaders like reverend jesse jackson, corretja scott king and eleanor holmes norton. mary frann sis berry, the former

commissioner of the civil rights commission, eeoc and robinson would transafrica. i was a kid during those days. they were organizing protests outside the south african embassy. my job was to help find and identify people who would get arrested, to keep the movement alive. it was a very tremendous moment and opportunity, but later i had an opportunity, working on a clinton/gore campaign and nelson mandela after visiting harlem in the 1990s, wanted to come to the inaugural of bill clinton. he had great affection and respect and admiration for bill and hillary clinton. i was an advanced person back during those days. i helped to escort him around. my good friend, yolanda, who was in that picture, it was a great moment. later i had an opportunity to go to south africa and other places to help train workers and volunteers who would conduct the

first multiracial elections in south africa. he was authentic. he was a giant. you know, when you were around him, you felt very special. he was joyful. he had a sense of humor, but there was this dignity about him, this strength about him. i will always remember his grace and his courage. >> and to donna's point, john, i want to bring you in. she talks about him being a giant. .headlines, these are one of the days you are looking at the headlines. "usa today" saying the death of a giant. you were there when nelson mandela was inaugurated in 1994. you've also covered many world events but you will never forget that moment. why? >> professionally it was the most powerful thing i've ever seen in my life. i say professionally because i carve out a special spot for my children. if you think of the day of inauguration, u.s. vice president al gore led the delegation. the ceremony was outside in what they call the union building, parliament building. it was the most dramatic,

powerful moment of south african military brass, white generals in the whitest dress uniforms you will ever see walking up to nelson mandela and handing over the keys of power in south africa with a who's who of world leaders in the courtyard outside. al gore was there with the u.s. delegation, the first lady, hillary rodham clinton was there as part of the delegation, a large member of the black caucus. fidel castro, khadafy there. from all over the world. tears in the face of these strong and powerful men and women. after the ceremony, i remember i lingered. i picked this up. this was given out to the v.i.p.s. this was in the front row. i picked up three that people left behind. it's the day of stamp. a special stamp for president mandela and remember, this was a new country, a new national anthem and flag. special stamps for that as well. we scooped up a couple of these. they were left by the guests.

i walked back to the hotel and you walked down a hill and there were parklands and there are poor people and you're going through, never ever have i seen such tears of joy. the people who had nothing, absolutely nothing, suddenly had everything. >> can i add to that? >> please. >> i was there with the first lady hillary clinton and as the president stood on center stage, next to him was the warden, the prison guard that he had forgiven after 27 years incarcera incarcerated. and as he stood there, the air blackened with the south african air force zooming over him. and i saw for the first time in my life white kids and black kids hugging each other with happiness and their parents crying and hugging each other. the kids not even knowing there was a problem before nelson mandela.

and i tell you that there wasn't a dry eye there. i don't know what everyone was thinking but i would say, thank god this man was sent to us, because whatever he did in life, everybody could put themselves in that position and wonder could i do that? and that's the bar that he set for all of us. >> congressman, quickly tell us before we let you go, one of the things that makes nelson mandela special, just one, is the affect he had on people when he met them with what he knew about them. he refers to you in an interesting way. it was politically significant. tell us the story. >> in 1987 i was successful in getting what they called the wrangle amendment passed. this allowed the american firms that were in south africa, they paid their taxes to south africa and they deduct it from their tax liability here. we set that it was no deduction.

we signed that as an effort to stop apartheid. and it passed. and i never thought i would ever see nelson mandela. when i saw him and people introduced me, he says, yes, i know him. they were trying to push me, saying he had the wrangle amendment, you know. and he says, oh, no, not the wrangle amendment. i thought, my god, here we go. he says, no, the white south africans call that the bloody wrangle amendment. and he said, i would suggest you get a -- >> there's that sense of humor. >> yes. he was a big giant. he was so warm, like a bear that would hug you and you fell apart no matter who you were or where you were. >> congressman, we have to say

thank you for sharing these very personal stories of your time with nelson mandela. donna brazile, thank you as well, john king with wonderful mementos from that time as well. thank you to the three of you for sharing these significant memories you have of a great leader. >> fun to celebrate that life. >> isn't it? >> it is. it is. we'll take a break now. on the one hand we're celebrating the passing of this great man. back home we're also bracing because we are encountering very dangerous weather. when we come back we'll be talking to you about that. you know what's going on now. you're looking at it on the screen. the storm is moving. dangerous conditions, especially because of ice. where is it going? where to expect the worst. what to do. we'll tell you when we come back. no one could have left this much money here. whoo-hoo-hoo! yet many seniors who compare medicare d plans realize they can save hundreds of dollars. cvs/pharmacy wants to help you save on medicare expenses. talk to your cvs pharmacist, call, or go to cvs.com/compare

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welcome back to "new day," everyone. we want to look at another major story affecting millions of you today. the dangerous ice storm blanketing most of the united states. freezing rain, widespread power outages expected from texas to kentucky. indra petersons is live in memphis, tennessee, tracking it all where people have been preparing and stocking up for what they are just waiting for to come. >> reporter: yes, i don't know if you can see what's behind me but we are talking about the line of storms having just moved into the area. some of the heavy rain is starting to fall. here's a sight i would like to keep. the power is on. you see the lights here behind me but the threat that the power goes out, getting ice, that could mean pouter outages in this area for about a week or

so. let's take a look at what we've seen from this storm as the cold air has been diving farther to the south. we've seen these impacts stretching from indiana all the way back through texas. where you see the circles on the map, that is storm reports, reports of freezing rain. we have already seen in those overnight hours. keep in mine, yes, right here in memphis, we have a threat of a category 3 ice storm possible. also just north of us in arkansas. catastrophic ice storm, category 5, the potential is there, meaning power could be gone for weeks. a scary thought. >> we'll be watching this, indra. thank you so much for that. president obama says the troubled rollout of obama care should not reflect poorly on his management style. speaking with msnbc, obama said the website is working smoothly now. he encouraged americans to sign up for coverage. vice president's asia tour is winding down this morning. his last stop is in south korea where he met with the president and again, like in japan and china, the conversation was dominated by tensions over

china's new air defense identification zone. biden reiterating washington firmly objects to the move made by beijing. an 18-year-old is facing charges after officials say he stole a piece of the car that crash the and killed actor paul walker and another man last week. jamieson witty allegedly took a piece of the car from a flat bed truck. he also posted this picture online. no charges for jameis winston in connection with an alleged sexual assault in 2012. a key factor, the accuser's recollection of events. winston issued a statement thursday thanking family, friends, coaches and teammates for standing by him during a difficult time. the national christmas tree will dazzle washington, d.c. this evening. president obama and the first family will officially light the tree during the 91st annual

holiday ceremony. it will be hosted by actress jay lynch, of "glee" fame and will feature performances by mariah carey and aretha franklin. if you can't attend, don't worry, they'll stream it live online. we are officially in the spirit, people. >> yes. once the trees get lit, it's on. >> it's on. we'll take a break here on "new day." when we come back, people in south africa are gathering in celebration and, of course, sar row remembering nelson mandela. we talk with the former british prime minister tony blair about the leader and what it will mean going forward. >> the sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement. let freedom be. god bless africa. we're aig. and we're here. to help secure retirements and protect financial futures. to help communities recover and rebuild. for companies going from garage to global.

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♪ one love one life when it's one need ♪ >> u2's bono one of many admirers that called nelson mandela a friend. welcome back to this special edition of "new day." in south africa, they are mourning the father of a nation. crowds are coming to the mandela home all night long in a scene overflowing with sadness and joy for a global son that became a sign of peace. >> listen, it's great to have

you here. of course you wrote the great biography on nelson mandela. it's so instructive of him as a man. i want to start with a point we have to be careful not to misunderstand. nelson mandela is known for his ability to reconcile, to forgive. but that doesn't mean that he didn't feel anger, he didn't feel bitterness. it's what he decided to do with those feelings. is that a fair assessment? >> that's very true, chris. people would always say to me, i can't believe that he doesn't feel anner in his heart, any bitterness. i would always smile to myself. he did. he felt it deeply, profoundly. his life was taken away from him, his family was taken away from him. he understood and he learned in prison he had to hide that anger and bitterness. the only way he could become a successful leader and president of south africa was to reconcile people, forgive the people who imprisoned him and make sure that white south africans did not see he was out for vengeance. remember, within he came out of prison, nobody really knew what he would be like. no one had seen him in 27 years.

there was a radical revolutionary organization, a socialist organization. people needed to see, this is a modern man. he understands women. he understands the rights of minorities, in this case, the rights of minorities in south africa were whites. >> he's going to be buried in the place where he was born where he spent his childhood. you spent quite a lot of time with him there. what was that like for you? >> you know, i did -- one of the first trips i took was to where he grew up. you'll be sympathetic to this. he was an incredibly early riser. come and meet, we'll take a walk tomorrow morning before our interview. i said, what time should i be there? 4:30 a.m. we'd walk around the town we grew up. when he spoke in his language, he was a different person, even

more joyful. he managed to reconcile that traditional tribal situation in south africa with the revolutionary moment of the anc and with white south africans. that was another amazing triumph of his. >> how perfectly appropriate that his homecoming will be in that place that he found so tranquil and peaceful. i want to talk to you about his time in prison. did you get a sense there was a defining moment that that shift happened for him? in prison, men are broken. he wasn't broken. >> yes. whatever the psychologists said, the same fire that melts the butter hardens the egg. it hardened him, it didn't melt him. one of the things about him, the man who went to prison was a different man that came out. >> he was hot headed. >> hot headed, tempestuous. pricen w prison was the crucible that

hardened him. one day he said to me, i came out mature. very rare, a mature man. >> i told you, he said it to more than just you, why he is adamant that i am not a saint. he said that often. >> i think there's a lesson for all of us. he wasn't a saint. what he was was -- and he was proud to call himself this -- he was a politician, a politician that managed to bridge these unbridgeable divides and he was very pragmatic. he had one unyielding, undeviating principle, freedom for his people. everything else was a tactic and everything else helped him achieve that goal. >> do you remember in 1990, the posters, the t-shirts. power to the people. >> right. >> one of the frustrations now is, he had obviously slowed down and changed. he was not the power figure that he had become. but he is gone now and now there

is a vacuum. the question becomes how do you harness the message because it was so much more important to the man than just the man. what do you think is the lesson that has to be pulled out of this for people so that the message doesn't die with the man? >> i think the lesson is you have to be able to reconcile with your rivals and your enemies. and that the things that actually bring you together are much greater than what divides you. and the challenge for south africa now is not to -- use what he's done to make that nation grown and continue to expand and evolve. i do think south africa is in a little bit of a perilous situation now. i think if people are buried backward looking and say he's gone, how can we survive? >> here, too, rich. >> here -- >> it's a message that should resonate everywhere. >> the world over. >> i think people understand that message, in some ways better here than they do there. there he is a father figure. so people still are enthralled

that, how can we still live when he is gone? and they certainly can. i think it's a challenge for the anc there, a challenge for jacob zuma to learn the lessons and move on. >> we've been hearing a lot of wonderful personal stories. we talk about the global impact, the personal stories the people have with the man, the figure, the father. what was your first impression of him when you started your journey with him. >> i had a funny first meeting with him. i was walking with him on "long walk to freedom." he came out of prison, he was unsophisticated about things. he told me about when they first held sound mikes over him, he held his head back like this. he thought it was a weapon. he didn't know what it was. after our first meeting, i said we'll have to have many, many meetings like this. he said, i don't have time for that. i stormed out. i thought, my god, the whole project was over with.

when i apologized to him, i said, i have been he was in prison for 27 years, a lovely person to be around, he was sunny and he was a happy warrior and it's very hard to be out of his presence once you've been with him for a long time. >> i want to talk about the notion of the practical politician, great ideas, a freedom fighter, but on a very practical level in terms of the freedoms and rights that he wanted for his people, some of the trash pickup, a breakfast that morning for a young boy he encountered. >> right. when i was with him early in the morning and he had run into young people, i loved children, he loved babies and any time he saw a young boy or young girl his first question was "and what did you have for breakfast today?" he was very concerned. he was a practical politician. he wanted to deliver those services but the other reason that he wasn't a saint is we compare him to gandhi. we compare him to martin luther

king. he always said to me, those men believed in non-violence as a principle. for me, non-violence was a tactic, and that is a very different person. he started the armed wing of the anc. >> right. started as a fighter. i think it magnifies the importance of the message which is why i wanted you to give us perspective on it, rick, because if you believe he is someone who is just better than we are, you know, he just didn't feel the anger and hostility and bitterness that i would, or you would, then that's one type of person, but when you know he did feel every bit as much, he had that fierceness in him, it's what he did with it, i think it magnifies the message. >> absolutely. one of the things i've written about is this sense of fear. there were so many times we were talking and he would say to me "i was terrified. i was afraid." here is nelson mandela telling me he was afraid, terrified. he once said to me "it would be irrational not to have been

terrified." i was on a plane ride with him once, one of the engines went out and i was a little nervous about it, and i looked at him, and he just was reading the newspaper like nothing happened and when we got on the ground about a half an hour later he said, "man, you know, i was terrified." >> it's not what you feel, it's what you do with it. >> exactly and politicians, you have to hide some of that because you have to bridge over it, you have to triumph over it. >> the powerful message he, too, as flawed as we are, maybe we, too, can make a difference, maybe not with the power and port he did but we can make a difference. >> thank you for sharing the perspective. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you so much. >> a reminder, rick stegel is not just the former prime minister of britain, he was the former managing ed are to have "time" magazine and coauthor of "long walk to freedom" and he wrote "mandela's way: lessons an life, love and courage" important reads especially now. thank you for joining us.

we'll take a break on "new day" and when we come back, insight into mandela's legacy from british prime minister tony blair. stay with us. it's donut friday at the office. and i'm low man on the totem pole. a

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coming up on "new day," much more on the death of nelson mandela. we'll have former british prime minister tony blair joining us, wolf blitzer, cristiane amanpour and fareed zakaria, with personal remembrances and perspective on a truly great man and his message. stay with us. if you're seeing spots before your eyes, it's time

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this morning, deadly storm, the worst ice storm in decades is hitting this hour. >> this is the sixth time i've had to stop to get the ice off of there. >> power lines down and if you're not getting ice you're likely getting the brutal cold. >> best thing to do is stay home today. >> we're live across the storm zone tracking it all. plus a man who fought for freedom. ♪ and changed the world. ♪ ♪ nelson mandela >> reporter: his nation and millions across the globe remember nelson mandela this morning. >> he no longer belongs to us.

he belongs to the ages. >> reporter: we're live in south africa, and we talk to those who knew him well. >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> welcome back to "new day," everyone. it is friday, december 6th, 8:00 in the east, and today we are celebrating the life of nelson mandela, that life finally came to an end thursday after 95 years, but it is a legacy that must endure. >> you're looking live at a makeshift memorial for nelson mandela that popped outside of his johannesburg home. the man whose influence on the world can't be overstated but it may have been his common touch and simple humanity that made him so special. take a look. ♪ nelson mandela >> reporter: nelson mandela stands alone as a man, a messenger, and as a man of the people. he was born in 1918, in the remote hills of south africa's

eastern cape. mandela was also a man of many names. his birth name, rolihlahla, which mandela said translated to troublemaker. school teacher named him nelson later on and of course, madiba, the name of his tribe given to him as a sign of respect, and then there was tata, father, with a free nation he helped birth. we would take up boxing and law, tools and a fight for freedom. >> the africans require want the franchise on the basis of one man one vote and want political independence. >> reporter: when mandela saw the apartheid was increasing its grip on the african nation he defiantly burned his passbook, a document authorities used to control the movements of south africa's black citizens. his fight for equality caused him to be tried for sabotage in

1964, which led to one of the most famous imprisonments ever, banished on robben island on capetown to serve a life sentence. while in prison mandela continued to serve as a symbol against the racial segregation. in 1989 he met with president de klerk who had already begun dismantling apartheid. >> my first meeting i didn't know what to expect and there he was standing straight as a ramrod, taller than i expected, being courteous, being obviously a man of integrity. >> there's mr. nelson mandela, a free man. >> reporter: de klerk eventually freed mandela after more than 27 years in prison. now, as the face of the end of aparthe apartheid, he ushered in a new era of freedom for his country. >> your commitment and your discipline has released me to

stand before you today. >> reporter: just three years later, mandela won a nobel peace prize together with de klerk. >> so help me god. >> reporter: and became south africa's first freely elected and black president in 1994, always an example of humility. >> i am part and parcel of a team, which has been part of the broad anti-apartheid movement in this country. >> reporter: he also became a symbol of freedom the world over, a voice heard everywhere, even joking with a child about how long he was in prison. >> but she insisted, but how long? i said, well, look, i have already told you that i can't remember. and she said, "you are a stupid old man." >> reporter: in 2004, mandela stepped out of public life to spend more time with his family, celebrating his 90th birthday with much fanfare, leaving a

powerful legacy of forgiveness, strength, and above all, freedom. we're starting to learn more about him and you have to distinguish the man from the message that he had, and what we do with it all going forward. let's get some more reaction and bring in former british prime minister, mr. tony blair. mr. prime minister, can you hear us? >> yes. >> okay, so obviously, you know the topic that we're discussing this morning, and it's difficult to distinguish this man from the message, because both were so big, so great. you, as a great leader yourself and seeing mandela as an example, what did he mean to you as a leader but also as a man? >> as a leader he was just a huge inspiration. i remember when we started our own peace process in northern ireland, he was such an example for reconciliation, forgiveness,

the ability to put the past behind you. he was hugely important in all the work we did for africa, and for ushering in a whole new generation of leaders in africa, but i will also remember him as a man coming in, visiting me in downing street when he'd come in the door and after saying hello to myself and my wife, he'd say hello to the people on the door, the people making the tea, the staff members, and he had a wonderful way about him and to be with by the way was enormous fun. he was obviously this person, this political character, incredible stature, but as an individual to be with, he was very relaxed, very fun, very funny, and immensely humble with that sort of quiet humility that really came of huge inner strength. >> we've heard many describe him as a father figure, a nation, south africa describes him as a father figure. you have said that as well. is there a moment with him that

you will always remember? >> i think one of the moments actually i'll always remember was when he came to my party conference, we have an annual party conference, and he came and he was so kind not just to everyone there but to my family and then i remember him actually, this is after he stepped down as president and saying to people, hello, i'm nelson mandela and i'm unemployed, i'm a pensioner with a criminal record. it was one of the extraordinary moments. he was just -- he was -- he was somebody who -- you often read about people and hear about them and think well they can't be that good when you meet them, but actually he was, and the other thing is that i think he -- he had a different effect on different people so for african leaders today, he's an

enormous example and inspiration. for people engaged in post-conflict work and peace processes, he's obviously a tremendous example. i think for a lot of people in western countries, he made racism seem somehow stupid and old-fashioned and irrelevant, as well as wrong. he had that quality, because his greatness as a leader was so obvious. he just stood, frankly, taller than anyone else. >> he had such great power of example because of what he endured and obviously that emboldened his own message if he was saying you need to learn how to set aside and forgive and move forward, this was a man who had to do it on a profound level. let me ask you mr. prime minister what do you think is the best advice you got from nelson mandela? >> the best advice i got was

particularly i remember around the northern ireland peace process, when it was very, very difficult because there was so much bitterness and suffering, actually. this is the thing, when you've gone through something like this, there is enormous amount of suffering, and he used to always say, look, the suffering is there, and it's real, and you can't wish it away so don't pretend it hasn't happened and don't -- you can't forget it, but what you can do is embrace the future in a way that means that you triumph over that adversity and that suffering, and that's, you know, that was for me what he represented, and insofar as we were able then in what we were doing in a very difficult situation to refer back to his example, it was hugely important for us. >> we've kind of talked about it throughout the morning, you described him as a unique leader and unique moment in history.

what do you think kind of sums up what is so special about him that people should try their hardest to emulate, so we could have another man like him in the future? >> i think he was a unique character and personality, but i think he also came about and stepped onto the stage, as it were, at a unique moment in time, when the world was changing, when old prejudices were being put behind us, when there was a whole new sense of optimism and possibility about how we could tackle issues like poverty and disease and injustice in the world, and so what you really had was something i think very occasionally in history you get, which is someone with an enormous sublime sense of justice and integrity, allied to that very special moment in time when that quality is needed and looked for and found presence,

so i don't know that -- i don't think there are many occasions in human history when you get all of those things coming together in that way, but they just did with him and with that end of the 20th century, when the advent of a new millennium seemed also the advent of a new age of thinking and attitude. >> prime minister, thank you so much for your time. it's great to see you and great to get your perspective on this day, a special day, a special day to take and celebrate the life and legacy of nelson mandela. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> the prime minister is so right, very often the moment makes the man in this case. >> yes. >> the leader who has to step forward and we're talking to leaders because it is special that nelson mandela was so powerful an impact that it is world leaders who felt that impact and you're hearing that from prime minister with tony blair and later on "the situation room" with wolf blitzer he'll talk about the same dynamic impact with former

president bill clinton at 5:00 p.m. eastern on cnn. going to continue our coverage there and also get you to the other big story we're following, a potentially catastrophic winter storm threatening really millions of people across the united states. it could be one of the worst ice storms in recent memory, a brutal batch of arctic air delivering freezing rain in the south, several states have declared emergencies as accidents are piling up on icy roadways and hundreds of flights have already been canceled. we're covering every part of the storm beginning with indra petersons in memphis for us this morning, good morning, indra. >> reporter: good morning, kate. things are quickly changing here. the sun is coming up but the temperatures are dropping even faster as that arctic air is making its way closer just west of us in memphis at the west memphis airport. they have reports of freezing rain so that storm line is very near to us but many places overnight have already seen the freezing rain. you can see anywhere from southern indiana through texas, they've seen rain, sleet, that freezing rain, that ice and dangerous snow.

a potentially catastrophic ice storm blanketed the nation's mid section overnight. >> this is the sixth time i've had to stop and get the ice off of there. >> reporter: treacherous roadways and large scale power outages forced oklahoma, arkansas and tennessee officials to declare a state of emergency. northeast arkansas now frozen by up to an inch of ice and wet snow, leaving many without power, an outage that officials say could last for up to a week. temperatures are expected to stay below freezing for many days. this icy mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain caused multiple rollovers in arkansas, including this seven-car pile-up in washington county, and in oklahoma, the driver of this truck lost control on an icy bridge and plummeted into a lake. >> it's real slick, the roads, you stop, you slide and just you try to get up the hill and couldn't get up the hill. best thing to do is stay home today. >> reporter: in illinois, vehicles slide right off the highways as accumulation of

sleet and ice reached as high as a quarter inch in southern counties. in the sky, hundreds of flights canceled thursday and more expected for friday as the winter storm warnings span from texas from eastern ohio. it could be the worst ice storm to hit the region since 1994, which caused over $3 billion in damage and it's not just the ice. the national weather service says this massive arctic air mass is dropping temps 10 to 30 degrees below normal, leaving millions of people to battle a dangerously bitter cold into the weekend. here in memphis the threat of a category 3 ice storm, the amount of damage we could see, a half inch to three-quarters of an inch of freezing rain, and we're talking power outages that could last a week. north of us in jonesboro a category 5 ice storm,

catastrophic damage that could mean without power for several weeks so keep that in mind. the advisory is obviously an ice storm warning, please stay off the roads if you do not need to go anywhere they're advising to you stay home. >> thanks so much, indra petersons live in memphis, tennessee. from there to north texas which is bracing for the worst of the storm where they expect to see the temperatures plummet tonight. alina machado is in dallas with much more on this side of the story. >> reporter: kate, we are starting to see the freezing rain and the sleet we've been seeing all morning ease up a bit. that does not mean the danger is gone. there say fresh coat of ice all over downtown dallas. take a look at this chair covered in ice, these bushes frozen also covered in ice and that also means that the roads are slick, they're wet, they're slushy. traffic as you can see behind me is moving slowly and that's a good thing. there are already reports of dozens of car wrecks in north

central texas, also reports of power outages, widespread power outages, at least 100,000 people, well above 100,000 people without power this morning, so michaela, this situation here is likely to continue to be treacherous for quite some time. >> it's going to be a tough weekend for a lot of folks. alina, thank you so much for that report. we'll look at our other headlines at this hour. president obama refusing to take the bait thursday asked to draw comparisons between joe biden and hillary clinton, the president telling msnbc that either would make an outstanding president. he praised biden as one of the best vice presidents ever, and said former secretary of state clinton would go down in history as among the finest. the pentagon revealing this morning a plan to safely destroy syria's chemical weapons at sea. specially equipped naval vessel would neutralize some of the materials, compounds to make sarin gas and mustard gas. they are worried about civil war

and land routes that would be used to get the materials to the ship. syrian authorities are taking steps to secure those roads. back here at home the engineer behind the controls of the commuter train that derailed in the bronx now suspended without pay. the n it, sb saying that drug and alcohol testing for william rockefeller came back negative. his attorney said he was in a daze when the train took a sharp turn at 82 miles an hour. four people died, many others injured when the train jumped the tracks sunday. funerals for two of the victims are set to happen today. cameras capturing a rough attempt by a plane in howling winds in britain. this 787 getting tossed side to side, misses the approach and has to circle back around the runway before trying again. the second attempt also didn't work, the pilot was forced to divert to another airport where we are pleased to say that plane landed safely but you can imagine how nerve wracking that

would be for the folks on board especially when they try again and again. >> how about the talent of the pilot? >> you kiss the ground when you finally land. >> you know, not to be trite but tying into what we've been discussing with mandela, the difference between what you feel and decide to do with it. >> you have to keep presence of mind. >> the yaw, the attitude of the plane is off and they get it right. >> it's amazing. >> thank god they got it right. >> no kidding. we'll take a break here on "new day," when we come back, more bloodshed in libya, an american, a teacher gunned down in the benghazi streets right by the u.s. consulate where four americans were killed last year. who is behind this new attack? is it a message? we'll give you a report. you fe, abreva can heal a cold sore in as few as 2 1/2 days when used at the first sign. without it, the virus spreads from cell to cell. unlike other treatments, abreva penetrates deep

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welcome back to "new day." an investigation is under way into the shooting death of an american teacher in libya. so far, no group has claimed responsibility for ronnie smith's death but there is evidence al qaeda may be connected. nic robertson has more. >> reporter: ronnie smith, a chemistry teacher at an international school in benghazi, gunned down while exercising in the volatile libyan city. smith's killing not far from the former american consulate where u.s. ambassador chris stevens was killed almost 15 months ago. >> at this point, we don't have

very much information to share about who is responsible or how it happened or why, but we certainly do expect the libyans to investigate. >> reporter: smith may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, a victim of random violence that took three other lives in benghazi thursday, as the country is caught up in rising militia violence, and although no claim of responsibility yet, less than a week before the shooting, al qaeda's american spokesman told libyans to attack american interests. in the 17-minute audio message in arabic, adam gadan said rise up and have vengeance against america for arresting al libi, arrested in the capitol tripoli two months ago, he was wanted in connection with the 1998 bombing at the u.s. embassies in kenya

and tanzania, echoes of a similar threat by ayman al zawahiri just days before the stevens killing. impossible to know why smith was killed but a look at his twitter account shows the world has lost not just a dedicated american teacher but a keen wit, too. this from his account wednesday "people always hate the cool kids. for clarification, we're the cool kids," much loved and already missed by his students and friends alike. smith leaves behind a wife and a young son. nic robertson, cnn, new york. >> thanks, nic, for that. coming up on "new day," millions enduring freezing rain, dangerous ice-coated roads. we're going to show you where we expect the worst of it to hit and tell you what to do. and the november jobs report is coming out in just a minute. will the numbers beat expectations? we're going to bring it to you.

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welcome back to "new day." we are keeping on eye on that massive and dangerous storm bearing down on much of the country. winter warnings are in place from texas, the ohio valley, sleet and freezing rain create dangerous icy conditions. airlines have canceled hundreds of flights, many schools are closed. meteorologist indra petersons is live in memphis, tennessee, finding the storm there. indra, what are you seeing where you are and what is moving away? >> reporter: things are changing very quickly here, just in the last few minutes, really starting to see that rain come on down and just west of us at

the west memphis airport they are reporting freezing rain so the cold arctic air is plunging farther to the south and a dangerous ice storm is under way. take a look now at the radar. you can see where that storm is, that's making it self move farther to the south and you can see the storm reports of freezing rain that we've already seen in the overnight hours, you're talking from southern indiana stretching back through texas, we've had reports of this freezing rain. now farther to the north right around southern illinois and indiana we've seen a third of an inch but you get the bull's eye through arkansas and tennessee this is where the real danger is. many places reporting over an inch of ice from the freezing rain. over half an inch takes down power lines, makes it weigh 500 pounds, when they've already seen an inch like this, that danger is still headed in their direction with more ice on the way, talking about potential catastrophic results. this system is expected to stay with us even as we go through the overnight tonight. it tapers off, but there's another system behind it and

that's the concern really affecting these exact same regions. i keep mentioning something called the ice index, the national weather service has an ice index, in memphis talking about a category 3 ice storm, a half inch to three-quarters of an inch possible here and i keep mention mentioning this, 20,000 examine theed to come in town in memphis today for tomorrow's marathon. they have not canceled it yet so dangerous conditions. >> i'm sure folks planning to run in the marathon want to keep in touch with local authorities and find out the status. time for the five things you need to know for your "new day." the funeral for nelson mandela will be held december 15th, a memorial december 10th. he's remembered as an anti-apartheid hero. a u.s. ka are goe vessel could start destroying some of syria's chemical weapons in january, it is equipped with special equipment to neutralize

the chemical compounds at sea. senator paul rand is unveiling his economic recovery plan for the city, part of a larger proposal meant to create jobs in cities with high poverty rates and being viewed as an outreach effort to minority voters. renewed hope for a group of whales stranded off the coast of florida, 35 of them have moved to slightly deeper water, they still have miles to go before they reach safety. 11 have died, so far, five others went missing overnight. president obama and the first family will light the national christmas tree today in washington, that event is hosted by actress jane lynch and will feature several musical performances. we always update those five things to know. visit newdaycnn.com for the latest. >> thanks so much, michaela. the november jobs report is released. christine romans is here with the numbers. you just got them in your aears. >> they're stronger than expected, 203,000 jobs added in november, the jobless rate fell

to 7%, it had been 7.2%, it fell to 7%. the average, you guys, this year, if you put the monthly average coming into this report, it was about 190,000, so this would show you that hiring is picking up. last month we saw about 204,000 jobs added so you're seeing that the hiring in the fall heading into winter is picking up. here is the thing when we dig through the numbers to look for, what kind of jobs are we adding, are we adding temporary jobs, adding the kinds of jobs that don't pay the wages of the jobs that were lost? even as you see the signs of strength in the labor market, when you look and dig through the numbers, still trying to create more of those middle class jobs and i think it's why the white house is still making this case to extend unemployment benefits. 1.3 million will run out of unemployment benefits at the end of the year. the white house is making the case job market is healing but not strong enough yet to let people go out without jobless benefits. the trend is important here, you

want to see this trend more than 200,000 jobs and you want to see it sustained. when you have job growth 200,000, 200,000 plus, that's when you start bringing down the jobless rate for the right reasons. sometimes the jobless rate falls because people just simply -- >> they quit. >> stop looking. >> what you want is people to be entering back in, people who are out of the labor market, you want them to start coming back in and finding opportunity, but that jobless rate no question has fallen pretty substantially over the past couple of years, 7% right now. >> as you said, looking at one jobs report is not what you should do. you have to look at the trend. what do you think as we're looking as the year passes, how do you think economists are going to take this trend and what does this mean for the jobs market? >> the good thing here, gm's chief economist when releasing car numbers this week, he said they're expecting a stable labor market into next year. that's good news. people when they feel good about their job practice prospects they buy a car and when we see car sales doing well, which we

are, i think that's a sign people are feeling better about their situation. you still have more than 11 million people who are out of work and somebody who is out of work for them the jobless rate is zero. that is a problem. we have a long-term unemployment that is still a problem here. >> let's put some shade on the numbers. we were talking earlier you have to think about the number of people you're capturing who just stopped looking for a job, not that they quit, but they can't find a job so they stopped. also, it is november, what is the discount effect on this being when a lot of places are hiring just for the season? >> this is also the time of year when people start to, frankly, when firing decisions also get made, too, you're looking into numbers for next year as well so that can be a wash. my producer can tell me what the underemployment rate is and check and see what the temporary worker numbers are. >> that's just for context. it's not just about the numbers. >> the other thing that matters here you guys, if these numbers keep getting better it could stall the stock market, right?

that means the fed will feel more comfortable in pulling back on all this stimulus so as the job market gets stronger, it means the fed maybe can pull back and you don't want to do that too soon because you don't want to hurt the labor market but that could mean the stock market run maybe we've seen the best of its run so far. >> better than talking earlier in the show that it's a little bit of, every time we get the jobs report it's a mixed bag, good but not good enough. how would you characterize this? they're saying in my ear the last time unemployment was low was november of 2008. >> this is a strengthening job market. the underemployment rate is 13.2% so those are people working part-time but want to be working full time or they don't have, so it's double-digit underemployment rate so people who are down on the labor market will say hey, man, that still feels real bad but it is moving in the right direction. you want people with jobs and a house and a little bit of savings, this is going to be a good economy for new 2014. if you don't have all three of those things it will feel the

same. >> you know what, though, that's exactly the problem is that many don't. you get this quality/quantity issue every time the job numbers come out. flaes a trend but what kind of trend, for whom? those questions matter just as much. this is just the start of the analysis. >> absolutely, you're right. coming up on "new day," so much to say about nelson mandela. we have unique perspectives from three members of the cnn cteam who have covered him, wolf blitzer, cristiane amanpour and fareed zakaria, to discuss the man, the legend and the legacy. and an epa-estimated 38 mpg highway, you guys are gonna love your new chevy cruze. thanks again for the great deal, nick. [ chuckles ] happy holidays. [ coins jingle ] [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. this holiday season, chevy's giving more.

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welcome back to "new day." more on the death of nelson mandela. we spend this morning celebrating the life of south africa's first democratically elected president, nelson mandela, a man whose work inspired his nation and the entire world. joining us now from washington is mr. wolf blitzer, anchor of "the situation room," and chr t christiane amanpour. christiane, we're trying to find the right way to capture the man and the message. you are dealing with so much impact on so many levels. give us some perspective of how we should see what matters most >> if you ask people and people have been asked throughout the years who is their hero, just about everybody will tell you nelson mandela because of the moral courage, dignity and the respect that he simply attracted to himself by his pride, by his

dignity, as i say, by the core of steel that allowed him to emerge from some of the most inhumane conditions, not just his prison for three decades but the terrible indignity that was wrought on the majority black population of south africa. he came out and he was resentful, and he did hate what happened to him and he was angry, but his great glory was that he triumphed over that and was able to see the future, get into the head of the white man, understand his adversary, speak his language and negotiate what became the first democratic election in south africa. it was phenomenal. >> and wolf, i know you'll share the sentiments that christiane has. you tell the story often and i want to make sure you can tell it to our viewers. people ask you, you interviewed many world leaders who is the most impactful interview you have hey in your long career and you always say nelson mandela.

what is it so special that left an impression on you? >> he was a powerful figure. i interviewed him in capetown, you see pictures in 1998, the day after nelson mandela took president clinton on a tour of robben island, he spent 27 years as a political prisoner under awful conditions during the apartheid regime. i had visited south africa in the 1980s as a journalist and i saw what was going on then, the bitterness of the segregation, at par th the apartheid regime. he got out in 1990 and slowly and surely eventually elected the first democratically elected president of south africa in 1994 and during those years after he left prison and he explained this to me, there was no anger, no remorse, no recriminations. he didn't want revenge. he was bitter inside but he said we need everyone to work together and he almost

single-handedly avoided a blood bath, the civil war between whites and blacks that could have erupted in south africa. he single-handedly prevented that and that's why that interview to me was so powerful. >> you can see just a note really quick over wolf's shoulder you see the white house and the flag at half staff in honor of nelson mandela. >> it's interesting, christiane i was thinking about the sacrifices of a man who becomes a freedom fighter and becomes an icon throughout the world has to make as an individual, aside from his years in prison, when he was called to be this leader he had to make sacrifices to his own family. >> that's absolutely right and president zuma of south africa when he announced the departure of he said south africa's greatest son he said, "and we thank his family for making the sacrifices as well" because mandela did have to give up his family. he did. he was fighting the fight and then he was behind bars and so

you know, as a human dynamic, that can be very, very difficult for family members, and they had to obviously cope with a man who belonged to the world, and belonged to their country, and not just him but you know, sometimes it's hard to sum up why the onion, which as you know is a satirical magazine here and i wouldn't normally quote "the onion" at a time like this but i think what it said today sums up everything, that reliable sources have told us that for the first time in recorded history, a political leader will be missed, and in a funny satirical way, they put their finger on the spot, and it's that, that we miss him and people, you know, would like to have seen him go on forever. >> and he is, someone said almost stared at his maker and then he blinked. >> mandela never blinked. mandela was brave and courageous

to the end, he never blinked. he got tired and his body gave out. >> at 95, and who would appreciate a good joke about him better than himself, given his sense of humor and what he smiled at through life. this is a great conversation. we must have more of it. let's take a break. when we come back more with k s christiane and wolf. a mouth breather! how do you sleep like that? you dry up, your cold feels even worse. well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. cold medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip, and pow! it instantly opens your nose up to 38% more so you can breathe and do the one thing you want to do. sleep. add breathe right to your cold medicine. shut your mouth and sleep right. breathe right.

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one need in the night ♪ welcome back to "new day." we are continuing our conversation and celebration of the life of nelson mandela. we're back here with wolf blitzer, christiane amanpour and fareed zakaria, all who have known very much about nelson mandela, his life and his legacy. wolf, i wanted to talk to you about we've been getting reaction really from leaders across the globe and many of them speaking very personally about their impressions that one thing they're going to be left with about nelson mandela. president obama, when he came out yesterday he spoke personally about knellsan man l mande mandela. what did you make of it? >> this was a man, knellsan mandela who inspired barack obama as a young college student but millions of americans and people all over the world and the president sees nelson mandela as a hero, a personal hero, that will be underscored in the coming days when the president will lead an impressive u.s. delegation to go

to south africa for the funeral to participate in the memorial service. i know there are a lot of people that want to go with the president. sume the former president bill clinton, the former first lady, former secretary of state hillary clinton, maybe jimmy carter, rosalyn carter, a lot of people want to g members of congress, and people who were so inspired, it's going to be a difficult chore for the white house to put together that list how many plane also go, how many people will be allowed to go. they've been planning this for the last several months because nelson mandela has been gravely ill but they've get to their work cut out for them over the next few days. >> fareed, i want to bring you in here. part of the task is to figure out the scale and the scope of this man and his influence. it's not easy especially here in america, and what is why you are thought on this. edward stanton, lincoln's secretary of war, when lincoln was assassinated he said "now he belongs to the ages." those are the same words that president obama nuzed used for

mandela. the question is when you're trying to size up impact, relevance, legacy, abraham lincoln to the 19th century, nelson mandela to the 20 senator. >> the century is so large you have to put franklin roosevelt and winston churchill in there, mandela the second half of the 20th century represented something very important which was the rise of the post-colonial work and more importantly the dominating message and it's a dominating cliche, the idea of forgiveness and reconciliation. people don't focus on how hard that was. the apartheid regime did not allow nelson mandela to go to the funeral of his firstborn son when he died in a car accident in 1968. this is a regime that jailed him for 27 years and when he comes out he says we are going to

keepen takt the entire africana state. wear note going to fire the generals, the police, any bureaucracy. contrast that with iraq, they come in after saddam, they fire everybody, everybody in the army in the bureaucracy so it was much harder to do what he did than people realize. we can now speak in slightly platitudeness terms about forgiveness and reconciliation. imagine yourself from a personal point of view, from a political point of view, all your newly empowered blacks in south africa wanting revenge. let's be honest, wanting revenge for generations, for centuries of oppression, and he says to them no. and this was one of the extraordinary things, he doesn't even bust the budget by spending money on black programs because he says it's important we attract capital and keep the white business class in south africa. so reconciliation and forgiveness easy to say, very hard to do. >> christian, i wanted to end with a thought that you had about the humble beginnings his

roots and we have to go back to that especially when you think about the fact that his final resting place will be there as well, talk about the beginning moments. >> the thing is it was a humble era but it wassen aristocrat, came from a well-born family and he then put himself on the front lines of this, you know, struggle for our time. he was george washington and abraham lincoln. he had to dismantle a state every bit as vicious as the slavery state of the united states at that time, even more perhaps and he did it as fareed says by triumphing over this idea of very revenge. that's what is so important, the truth and reconciliation commission, the ability to negotiate with the white oppressor and i interviewed f.w. de klerk last night and in his first statements after the death of mandela he said this was such a dignified man. he was so special i could see it immediately. i was stunned when i first saw him, we been behind bars for

three decades, i didn't know what to expect, i had read up on him but he was so tall and he was so dignified and he commanded our respect. you're absolutely right. mandela's people say that it was a miracle that we pulled off that election. there was fighting from the zulu party, fighting from the extremists, violence and bombs just before the elections and yet they managed to push through these negotiations, keep all sides on and have those elections and those elections of '94 were phenomenal if you could play the pictures of seeing millions and millions of black and white south africans lining up for the first time in this unbelievable outpouring of democracy. it was just tremendous. >> when you talk about when he came, when he left prison, people did not know exactly how he was going to react. how did he accomplish avoiding a civil war? >> well, i think that he had spent a lot of time in prison thinking about this, you know,

he had thought very carefully what his strategy would be when he came out. >> and it is a strategy. this wasn't just his human dignity coming out. this was strategy. >> and it's important to think about it that he wasn't a saint. he was a politician. he did what he did because he knew it was the only way to save his country. we the foresight to see that if the african turned to violence, if the white business class were to flee, south africa would collapse, the business would collapse, and he'd seen that happen in other places like rodisha so it was a carefully planned strategy. he knew he had to get what he wanted. he was maximalist in his negotiations with de klerk. he said you are going to dismantle this completely. we are not going to go for any half measures and de klerk said to christiane, i loved that, he saw this guy incredibly tall, ramrod straight. >> i remember that. >> this was a guy in his, 72 years old he must have thought about that moment.

>> and he's right, he never bent in front of that. he kept his principles and he was a tough negotiator with de kle klerk. >> he may not have been a saint but among politicians is he certainly saintly to be sure. >> well said. >> christiane, fareed thank you for perspective. later today, wolf who has been joining us about talk about knellsan son male it l.a. with former president bill clinton to hear leaders talk about the impact mandela had on them is powerful. the interview airs at 5:00 p.m. on "the situation room." we'll take a quick break. stay with us. a subaru... ...are the hands that do good things for the whole community: the environment, seniors, kids, and animals. that's why we created the share the love event. by the end of this year, the total donated by subaru could reach 35 million dollars. you get a great deal on a new subaru. we'll donate 250 dollars to a choice of charities that benefit your community. it feels good to be a helping hand.

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a massive storm, massive news of nelson mandela's passing. continuing coverage on cnn this morning, we get to carol costello and wolf blitzer. >> thanks so much, good economic news, too. "newsroom" starts now.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning to you. i'm carol costello. thank you for joining me for this special edition of "cnn newsroom" as we remember the life and legacy of nelson mandela. first breaking news in the last hour, brand new jobs report is out with the lowest unemployment rate in five years. we'll tell you how the markets and the white house are responding this morning. also an arctic blast, this is dallas, where the mercury has dropped 50 degrees in just the last 24 hours. colossal ice storm putting on the freeze from texas to tennessee. and in johannesburg, remembering the man who went from prisoner to president, we'll have the latest on funeral plans for the anti-apartheid icon, nelson mandela. first to that breaking news on the economy, americans are getting back to work, 203,000 jobs were added to payrolls in november, and the unemployment rate ticked two notches lower to 7%.